Nick Wright previews this weekend's clash between York City Knights and Hull FC
Alex Reid looks at whether the once ever-present appearance of English clubs in the later stages of the Champions League is set to become a thing of the past
Craig Dobson looks at QPR's decision to sack Neil Warnock and replace him with Mark Hughes
James Tompkinson reviews an excellent pre-season victory for the York City Knights against Yorkshire rivals Leeds Rhinos
After games against Sheffield Hallam and Northumbria had been postponed earlier in the term, this was the debut match for freshers Rose Morrison, Helen Streeter, Emily Lingard and Christiana Hambro, as well as for third years Jen Collinson and Sarah Saywell.
Unfortunately, Manchester Metropolitan Women's 1sts emerged victorious. The majority of their good play throughout the match was dominated by two of their players who had played at both international and county level together. Towards the end of the match however, York’s defence broke down their play by anticipating the fast breaks, with some stunning interceptions by Rachel Cooper and some hard-hitting - perhaps not strictly legal - tackles resulting in the final quarter being tied 2-2.
Although the score line of 21-9 would lead you to believe the match was one-sided, in reality it was closely fought out and quite evenly matched. York's basic skills were much more advanced than those of MMU, who relied almost completely on their two international players.
All the new team members played incredibly, with Morrison and Streeter scoring two and three goals respectively. Hambro meanwhile finished as Woman of the Match for her stunning performance in the heavily-pressurised York goal. Other goalscorers were ex-Vice Captain Rachel Cooper, who scored one goal, and ex-Captain Sophie Close-Smith, who scored a hat-trick.
A special mention should go to new team member Collinson who fearlessly took on international number 16 by herself, and also to Rebecca Chalk, who kept the defence motivated whilst screaming her lungs off in the process.
Despite this being the first game with a new team, York Girl’s demonstrated a strong defensive strategy, some very controlled attacking moves and great connections in the midfield. It was a very encouraging start to a season full of potential, and the team hope to be more successful in their upcoming games.
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